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Leading Auto Body Repair Shop in Los Angeles with Excellent Standards of Quality & Service
Jim & Jack’s Collision Center in Hermosa has been providing clients in Los Angeles’ South Bay area with excellent auto body repair service since 1967. We are a premier auto body shop tha... Read More

Should I file a claim to fix parking lot damage to my car in Hermosa California?

Should I file a claim to fix parking lot damage to my car in Hermosa California?

parking lot damage

Our cars spend a lot of time in parking lots. Parking lots are also a host to any number of hazards including shopping cart dings and dents, dents from someone opening their door into your car, or someone backing into to your parked car. So it stands to reason that we get a lot of estimates and inquiries about what to do in the event of parking lot damage.

Lets say you backed into a small pole and damaged your rear bumper and there were no injuries. You get a few estimates at local Hermosa auto body shops, and they average out to be in the range of $1100 to $1500 to fix the parking lot damage. Lets also assume that you have a $1000 deductible. Since you are already going to pay $1,000 out of pocket, you probably have some of these common questions:

Your first question is likely to be- if I claim this on my insurance, will my insurance price go up in near future?

Because if the answer is yes, then you will want to know if it is a bad idea to claim it in on your insurance or if you should bite the bullet and pay out of pocket.

So should claim this parking lot damage on your insurance or not?

This parking lot damage is still considered by your car insurance company to be a collision. Parking lots are no different than public roads, and if you hit something with your car it's a collision, and is covered under your collision policy.

Now if you scraped or bumped your car against something this is an at-fault collision and will count against your premiums if you live in an at fault state.

If someone else is responsible for the damage (like another car and you are able to get their driver and insurance information), then it's a not at-fault accident and your record will still be clean.

Sometimes in some states, parking lot damage is a no-fault regardless of who hit who if the state determines that it happened on private property. I once got T boned in a restaurant parking lot in Virginia and police could not find fault because it did not happen on a state roadway, even though the other driver was CLEARLY at fault.

If you are responsible for your own damage, your best bet is to spend the extra $100- $500 and fix it yourself. The $100 to $500 you save today could end up costing you this same amount multiplied for several years until the claim drops off your record (usually three years or more). You never know when a real accident or speeding ticket is going to happen, and the last thing you need is for one little scrape to be the thing that pushes you into the high-risk market.

So if you have some minor damage from a parking lot here in Hermosa and nobody was injured, and regardless of fault, please come in to Jim & Jack’s for a quote and we will try and work with your budget.